For Folsense
by Emme2589
Summary: An idea for an AU I had.


Layton shook himself awake when the train screeched to a halt. He sat up, cracking his back as he gathered his bearings.

"Oh dear." He carefully stood, pushing his hat up his forehead when it fell over his eyes, "I must have fallen asleep on the sofa. How careless of me."

Wait a moment. The train, Sammy, the flowers...!

"Professor?"

"Luke?" Layton walked around the small table in the room of the deluxe car, "What happened? Why is it so quiet?"

"Professor, you won't believe this." Luke took Layton's arm to let him know where he was, "I had such a strange dream; The second car of two trains swapped places, and one of them was ours."

"What?" Layton grabbed the rim of his hat, straining his ears in the silence of the train, "Luke, what you saw may not have been a dream at all. Could we have found it?"

"Professor?" Flora grabbed Layton's other arm, "It's really dark outside, I'm scared."

"Now now, Flora. It's alright." Layton shied away from the grasp of both children, "Come on. We can figure this out."

Every sound echoed in the vast station as they exited the train. Layton guessed they were in some kind of tunnel, as their footsteps were loud in their ears.

"Whoa." Luke stopped near the exit of the tunnel, "Look at these photos. They look old."

Layton brought a hand to his chin, "Can you describe them to me?"

"Yeah. They look like they're of Folsense." Luke ran a finger across one of the picture frames, "It's all dark, but the buildings are covered in lights. It's kind of magical, in a way."

"Any clue as to their exact age?"

"Well, the images don't look too distorted, but there's a bit of yellowing and fraying on the edges. It's faint, but it's there."

"Hm..." Layton hummed as he thought, "Based on your description, I'd say the photos are at least thirty years old."

"Wow. You're good, Professor!"

"Thank you." Layton felt along the wall to find the exit, "Let's go find everyone else. I don't like this."

"I'm sticking close to you two." Flora gripped Layton's sleeve in one hand as they walked down the hallway.

About halfway through the stretch of corridor, however, all three of them were hit with a wave of dizziness. Luke's vision doubled, Flora was close to fainting, and Layton...

Luke shook his head to dispel the sudden nausea, "Professor! What was _that!?"_

Layton didn't answer. His gaze was fixed forward, on a distant source of light.

_No. This can't be possible._

He adjusted his hat before bolting forward.

"Professor! Hey!" Luke chased him down, "Don't run!"

Layton emerged outside, where the sun had set in the distance, and every building ahead was covered in thousands of sparkling lights. Another wave of dizziness washed over them, which only increased the number of lights and buildings that could be seen.

"This is..." Layton squinted through the kaleidoscope of colors and patterns, _"...overwhelming."_

"Professor! What's gotten into you!?" Luke panted as he grabbed Layton's shoulder, "You could have hit something!"

"No, you don't understand." Layton's eyes were wide open, "Luke, do you see this?"

"Well, yes, it's too bright and..." Luke stopped himself, "Wait, are you saying...!?"

"Guys, what's going on!?" Flora huffed, "What happened in there!?"

"Flora..." Layton blinked. Her image was hazy, like a version of what he always imagined Flora might look like if he ever saw her.

"You mean you don't know?" Luke looked even stranger. His image was almost crystal clear, but he looked exactly as he did on the day Layton lost his vision, even though he had clearly aged since then.

Flora's brow furrowed, "What don't I know?"

Luke crossed his arms, and the details around his silhouette blurred around the edges, "The Professor has been blind for years."

"Blind? Wait, how? He can't be blind!"

"But I am, or, I _used_ to be..." Layton looked down at his own hands, and they too seemed faded at the seams, though they were much clearer than the figures of his two companions, "Everything is off, though. What do you two see?"

"It's just a town similar to the photos." Luke hung by Flora's side, "Why? Do _we_ look strange to you?"

Layton went back to touch the brick wall of the train station. Wherever he touched it, it seemed to snap into focus, indicating his perception changed with the senses he knew were reliable. Looking back over the town, he noticed the fuzzy edges of the buildings and lights, like his brain was unsure of the pieces it had been given to reconstruct the scene.

"Professor?"

Layton took a few steps forward. The ground was solid beneath him, but that's not what it looked like.

"I don't trust this." Layton covered his eyes, "Luke, can you continue to lead me forward?"

"Um, yes. Of course."

Luke anxiously wrapped an arm around Layton's back as he eased his eyes open again, and the boy led the small group forward into the glittering town.


End file.
